Question
I recently purchased an aloe plant.  It is in about a gallon pot.  It also looks like it might be three plants, not sure.  It sits inside a room that is full of windows.  (My african violets have thrived in the same location for several years.)  We have only had it for a week.  It has been watered about 10 to 12 ounces of water during the week.  I noticed this morning that it has mold on the top of the soil.  What do I need to do about this?  Is repotting it the right way to go since it is almost July.  

Answer
Lynn,

If you are going to repot it you need to do it now! Do not wait. It sounds like it may be in standard potting soil which is not good for aloes. Standard potting soil holds too much water for aloes. They need cactus soil with lots of sand. Try not to disturb the roots too much but remove azs much of the soil as possible. Either put the plant back in the same pot or one the same size. That is plenty of pot for an aloe or three. You could even go to a shallower pot with the same diameter because most of aloes roots are close to the surface, they are very shallow rooted. Make sure the new pot has a drain hole in the bottom. That is an absolute necessity.

As for light aloes like lots of sun so put it close to a window facing south, west or east so it actually gets some sun shining on it.

When watering be sure the soil is bone dry and the plant feels light weight when watering. You can even wait for several days when you think it is dry.  No aloe ever died of too little water but too much will kill them fast. Mine gets watered every 7-10 days during the sumer and every 2-3 weeks during the winter. Aloes come from the plains of Africa where it is hot, sandy and dry.  Good luck.

Darlene